August 2014 Electric Vehicle Sales Running Out Of Juice

Detroit September 4, 2014; The Wall Street Journal reported that
automakers' efforts to put more electric vehicles on the road appears to be
shorting out.

Despite a booming U.S. auto
market, sales of electric and hybrid cars have stalled this year, capturing
3.6 percent of the market through August, slightly down from last year's
3.7 percent share, says research firm Edmunds.com.

The leveling off comes
as surprise. Many auto industry executives and analysts predicted that
hybrid and electric car sales would continue to grow incrementally as
carmakers expanded new offerings and public awareness increased.

In 2011,
the Obama administration put forth the lofty goal of putting one million
electric vehicles on the road by 2015. Last year, a total of 581,240
electric and hybrid cars were sold in the U.S., said Edmunds.com.

"As the
summer months wind down, we're approaching the time of the year when sales
of these vehicles tend to be slower, so a late-year surge isn't very
likely," said Jessica Caldwell, an Edmunds.com analyst. For many major
carmakers, sales volumes are declining as gas prices stabilize and more
U.S. buyers return to buying large cars and sport-utility vehicles.